Learn Hijazi Arabic (Saudi Dialect), Free
Ψ§ΩΨΉΨ±Ψ¨ΩΨ© Ψ§ΩΨΨ¬Ψ§Ψ²ΩΨ©
Hijazi Arabic is the dialect of western Saudi Arabia: Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, and Taif. The free lessons follow the Foreign Service Instituteβs Saudi Arabic Basic Course (Urban Hijazi Dialect) by Margaret K. Omar (1975), across 50 lessons. Each lesson has dialogue, repetition drills, and pronunciation practice, so you can start speaking from lesson one.
Who this is for
This page is for someone who wants to learn Hijazi Arabic and does not know how to start. The method is the one the Foreign Service Institute used with US diplomats: a short dialogue, then repetition and pronunciation, until the lines are automatic. Vento is the same public-domain course, laid out as lessons you can do on a phone. It is free. It is not a game and it is not affiliated with the State Department.
The source course
Saudi Arabic Basic Course (Urban Hijazi Dialect). Margaret K. Omar, Foreign Service Institute, 1975. 50 lessons. The dialect of Jeddah, Mecca, Medina, and Taif. This catalogue has 50 units.
The first lessons you will actually open:
- Lesson 1: Greetings
- Lesson 2 β Greetings and Arrival
- Lesson 3 β Greetings and Introductions
- Lesson 4 β Past Tense and Introductions
- Lesson 5 β Speaking and Language Ability
- Lesson 6 β Greetings and Introductions
How a lesson works
- Listen to the dialogue and follow the line that is playing.
- Repeat it aloud. The course is built on that repetition, not on tapping translations.
- Do the drills, then check pronunciation in your browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari).
- Come back to the same unit before you pile on a new one.
A fuller explanation of the drill cycle is on the FSI method page. Hours and categories are on the difficulty ranking.
How long it takes
2,200 class hours (88 weeks) is the State Department figure for full-time class to ILR 3, speaking and listening. Studying alone for an hour a day is a different pace. Use the number to see how large the language is, not as a date you will be fluent.
Figures for categories and class hours are from the U.S. Department of State, βForeign Language Trainingβ (https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training), describing full-time classroom study to an ILR 3 in speaking and listening. They are not a promise about self-study. state.gov/foreign-language-training
What is Hijazi Arabic?
It is the everyday Arabic of the Hijaz, in the west of Saudi Arabia. The 1975 FSI preface calls this urban dialect the most widely understood on the Peninsula. That is the courseβs own claim from 1975, not a current census. Najdi, spoken in the central region, is a different dialect. Vento does not teach Najdi.
Hijazi, Najdi, Egyptian, or MSA?
Pick the variety you will actually speak. This table is a study guide, not a rule for every city.
| Variety | Where it helps | A sound you will meet |
|---|---|---|
| Hijazi | Jeddah, Mecca, Medina | Ω often sounds like g |
| Najdi | Central Saudi Arabia | Not this course |
| Egyptian | Cairo and much of Egypt | Ψ¬ often sounds like g; Ω often a glottal stop |
| MSA | News, books, formal speech | q and j stay distinct |
Vento also has the FSI Egyptian and Levantine courses. A sourced comparison of Ω and Ψ¬ is on Hijazi vs Najdi vs Egyptian. A study plan is on how to learn Hijazi Arabic.
Phrases from lesson 1
These five lines are paired the way lesson 1βs drills print them (romanization from the FSI text). The stored vocabulary list in that lesson mis-aligns some English glosses, so this page uses the drill pairs, not that list.
- keef Haalak?How are you? (to a man)
- tayyib, al-Hamdu lillaah.Fine, thank God.
- w inta?And you? (to a man)
- ahlan biik.I'm glad to see you. (to a man)
- 9iidu.Repeat. (to a group)
Original source text
The course is Margaret K. Omarβs Saudi Arabic Basic Course (Urban Hijazi Dialect), Foreign Service Institute, 1975. A scan is on HathiTrust record 000722062. Archives such as fsi-language-courses.org host the PDF and audio. Those files are useful. Vento is the guided version: the same lessons, with the drill cycle on the page.
Questions
Is Hijazi the same as Saudi Arabic?
Hijazi is the dialect of western Saudi Arabia, including Jeddah and Mecca. Saudi Arabia also has Najdi and other dialects. This course is the FSI urban Hijazi course, not a Najdi course and not Modern Standard Arabic.
Is the Hijazi course really free?
Yes. All 50 lessons are free on Vento. The source text is a 1975 US government course. Vento is not part of the State Department.
Do I need to learn Modern Standard Arabic first?
No. The course starts with greetings and drills them aloud. MSA is a different register. You can add it later if you need to read formal Arabic.
Will Hijazi speakers understand Egyptian, and vice versa?
Often, with effort, because the courses share a lot of vocabulary. Pronunciation differs. In this Hijazi course, Ω is often g. In Ventoβs Egyptian course, that sound is often a glottal stop, and Ψ¬ is often g. Treat that as a study contrast, not a rule for every speaker.
Is the 1975 material out of date?
Some vocabulary is dated. The greetings, core grammar, and pronunciation drills still give you a way to start speaking. When a phrase sounds old, learn the pattern and swap the modern word.
Can I use a lesson without a connection?
You can download that lessonβs text and audio and play them without a connection. Pronunciation feedback runs in your browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari) and needs that browserβs speech service, so it is not an offline check.
At a glance
Class hours
2,200 class hours
Region
Middle East